Apparel Modeling in a Virtual Storefront

ABSTRACT

A system allows a user to create new designs for apparel and preview these designs before manufacture. Software and lasers are used in finishing apparel to produce a desired wear pattern or other design. The system provides feedback to the user on how their designs may appear in a virtual storefront, such as through virtual reality or augment reality techniques.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. patent applications62/636,108 and 62/636,112, filed Feb. 27, 2018, which are incorporatedby reference along with all other references cited in this application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to apparel finishing and, morespecifically, the use of a laser in the finishing of garments,especially denim including jeans, shirts, shorts, jackets, vests, andskirts, to obtain a faded, distressed, washed, or worn finish orappearance.

In 1853, during the California Gold Rush, Levi Strauss, a 24-year-oldGerman immigrant, left New York for San Francisco with a small supply ofdry goods with the intention of opening a branch of his brother's NewYork dry goods business. Shortly after arriving in San Francisco, Mr.Strauss realized that the miners and prospectors (called the “fortyniners”) needed pants strong enough to last through the hard workconditions they endured. So, Mr. Strauss developed the now familiarjeans which he sold to the miners. The company he founded, Levi Strauss& Co., still sells jeans and is the most widely known jeans brand in theworld. Levi's is a trademark of Levi Strauss & Co. or LS&Co.

Though jeans at the time of the Gold Rush were used as work clothes,jeans have evolved to be fashionably worn everyday by men and women,showing up on billboards, television commercials, and fashion runways.Fashion is one of the largest consumer industries in the U.S. and aroundthe world. Jeans and related apparel are a significant segment of theindustry.

As fashion, people are concerned with the appearance of their jeans.Many people desire a faded or worn blue jeans look. In the past, jeansbecame faded or distressed through normal wash and wear. The apparelindustry recognized people's desire for the worn blue jeans look andbegan producing jeans and apparel with a variety of wear patterns. Thewear patterns have become part of the jeans style and fashion. Someexamples of wear patterns include combs or honeycombs, whiskers, stacks,and train tracks.

Despite the widespread success jeans have enjoyed, the process toproduce modern jeans with wear patterns takes processing time, hasrelatively high processing cost, and is resource intensive. A typicalprocess to produce jeans uses significant amounts of water, chemicals(e.g., bleaching or oxidizing agents), ozone, enzymes, and pumice stone.For example, it may take about twenty to sixty liters of water to finisheach pair of jeans.

Therefore, there is a need for an improved process for finishing jeansthat reduces environmental impact, processing time, and processingcosts, while maintaining the look and style of traditional finishingtechniques. There is a need for tool to creating and previewing patternson jeans before laser finishing.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A tool allows a user to create new designs for apparel and preview thesedesigns before manufacture. Software and lasers are used in finishingapparel to produce a desired wear pattern or other design. Based on alaser input file with a pattern, a laser will burn the pattern ontoapparel. With the tool, the user will be able to create, make changes,and view images of a design, in real time, before burning by a laser.Input to the tool includes fabric template images, laser input files,and damage input. The tool allows adding of tinting and adjusting ofintensity and bright point. The user can also move, rotate, scale, andwarp the image input.

In an implementation, a method for apparel modeling in a virtualstorefront includes providing a garment previewing tool that allowspreviewing on a computer screen of a selected garment base customized bya user with a finishing pattern, where the garment previewing toolincludes: providing an option for the user to select the garment baseand upon the user's selection, showing a first garment preview image onthe computer screen including a jeans base image for the selectedgarment base, providing an option for the user to select a wear patternfrom a menu of wear patterns, where each wear pattern is associated witha laser input file to be used by a laser to produce that wear patternonto a jeans garment, and after the wear pattern is selected, allowingthe user to select the wear pattern and modify a sizing or position ofthe wear pattern relative to the jeans base image. The method includesfor a plurality of garments created using the garment previewing tool,receiving a first selected garment from the user and receiving from theuser a request to populate a virtual storefront template with the firstselected garment, where the virtual storefront includes a first virtualsurface. The method includes populating, based on a first virtualsurface type associated with the first virtual surface, the virtualstorefront template to include the first selected garment on the firstvirtual surface, where the first virtual surface includes at least oneof a tabletop, shelving, or clothing rack, and the first virtual surfacetype is associated a first scheme to present the first selected garmentincluding whether the first selected garment should be hung, flat, on amannequin, folded, or stacked, and presenting the populated virtualstorefront template to the user. The method includes allowing the userto navigate the populated virtual storefront, where, in response to theuser's navigation input, updating the populated virtual storefronttemplate. The method includes providing a target garment correspondingto the first selected garment by the user; and based on a laser inputfile associated with a selected wear pattern with modified sizing ormodified positioning, or a combination, using a laser to create afinishing pattern on an outer surface of the target garment.

The method includes a jeans garment. The method includes where a methodof manufacturing the target garment includes: assembling the targetgarment from fabric panels of a woven first material including a warpincluding indigo ring-dyed cotton yarn, where the fabric panels are sewntogether using thread. The method includes where based on the laserinput file, the laser removes selected amounts of material from thesurface of a material of the target garment at different pixel locationsof the garment, and for lighter pixel locations of the finishingpattern, a greater amount of the indigo ring-dyed cotton warp yarn isremoved, while for darker pixel locations of the finishing pattern, alesser amount of the indigo ring-dyed cotton warp yarn is removed. Themethod includes where when using the laser to create a finishingpattern, different laser levels are obtained by varying an output of thelaser beam by altering a characteristic of the laser including at leastone of a frequency, period, pulse width, power, duty cycle, or burningspeed. The method includes where the target garment is made of at leastone of a twill material or a cotton twill material. The method includeswhere the garment base corresponds to a base fit fabric and the base fitfabric includes known characteristics regarding the suitability of thebase fit fabric for finishing using the laser.

The method may include selecting more than one garment for use in thevirtual storefront. The method includes for the plurality of garmentscreated using the garment previewing tool, receiving a second selectedgarment from the user, where the second selected garment is includedwith the first virtual surface. The method includes for the plurality ofgarments created using the garment previewing tool, receiving a secondselected garment from the user, where the second selected garment isincluded with a second virtual surface, different than the first virtualsurface. The method includes a virtual storefront with signage or adoorway.

The method may include various method for the user to interact with thevirtual storefront. The method includes presenting the populated virtualstorefront template to the user uses augmented reality or augmentedreality. The method includes where the user's navigation input includeswalking in a first direction or tilting the user's device.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent upon consideration of the following detailed descriptionand the accompanying drawings, in which like reference designationsrepresent like features throughout the figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a system for creating, designing,producing apparel products with laser finishing.

FIG. 2 shows a flow for a finishing technique that includes the use of alaser.

FIG. 3 shows a weave pattern for a denim fabric.

FIGS. 4-7 show how the laser alters the color of ring-dyed yarn.

FIG. 8 shows a flow for finishing in two finishing steps and using basetemplates.

FIG. 9 shows multiple base templates and multiple resulting finishedproducts from each of these templates.

FIG. 10 shows a distributed computer network.

FIG. 11 shows a computer system that can be used in laser finishing.

FIG. 12 shows a system block diagram of the computer system.

FIGS. 13-14 show examples of mobile devices.

FIG. 15 shows a system block diagram of a mobile device.

FIG. 16 shows a block diagram of a system for creating, designing,producing apparel products with laser finishing.

FIG. 17 shows a block diagram of a specific implementation of a previewtool.

FIG. 18 shows a block diagram of a brief tool.

FIG. 19 shows a technique of generating a preview of a finished imageusing a brief tool.

FIG. 20 shows a block diagram of a technique of generating a preview ofa laser finishing pattern on a garment.

FIG. 21 shows a system for apparel manufacturing and sales.

FIG. 22 shows block diagram of a digital showroom system.

FIG. 23 shows an order tool.

FIG. 24 shows a system diagram for a virtual storefront tool.

FIG. 25 shows a flow of a system using the virtual storefront tool.

FIG. 26 shows an image texture and color swap approach.

FIG. 27 shows a flow of the image texture and color swap technique.

FIG. 28 shows an augmented reality approach.

FIG. 29 shows a flow for an augmented reality technique.

FIG. 30 shows a virtual reality approach.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a process flow 101 for manufacturing apparel such as jeans,where garments are finished using a laser. The fabric or material forvarious apparel including jeans is made from natural or synthetic fibers106, or a combination of these. A fabric mill takes fibers and processes109 these fibers to produce a laser-sensitive finished fabric 112, whichhas enhanced response characteristics for laser finishing.

Some examples of natural fibers include cotton, flax, hemp, sisal, jute,kenaf, and coconut; fibers from animal sources include silk, wool,cashmere, and mohair. Some examples of synthetic fibers includepolyester, nylon, spandex or elastane, and other polymers. Some examplesof semisynthetic fibers include rayon, viscose, modal, and lyocell,which are made from a regenerated cellulose fiber. A fabric can be anatural fiber alone (e.g., cotton), a synthetic fiber alone (e.g.,polyester alone), a blend of natural and synthetic fibers (e.g., cottonand polyester blend, or cotton and spandex), or a blend of natural andsemisynthetic fibers, or any combination of these or other fibers.

For jeans, the fabric is typically a denim, which is a sturdy cottonwarp-faced textile in which a weft passes under two or more warpthreads. This twill weaving produces a diagonal ribbing. The yarns(e.g., warp yarns) are dyed using an indigo or blue dye, which ischaracteristic of blue jeans.

Although this patent describes the apparel processing and finishing withrespect to jeans, the invention is not limited jeans or denim products,such as shirts, shorts, jackets, vests, and skirts. The techniques andapproaches described are applicable to other apparel and products,including non-denim products and products made from knit materials. Someexamples include T-shirts, sweaters, coats, sweatshirts (e.g., hoodies),casual wear, athletic wear, outerwear, dresses, evening wear, sleepwear,loungewear, underwear, socks, bags, backpacks, uniforms, umbrellas,swimwear, bed sheets, scarves, and many others.

A manufacturer creates a design 115 (design I) of its product. Thedesign can be for a particular type of clothing or garment (e.g., men'sor women's jean, or jacket), sizing of the garment (e.g., small, medium,or large, or waist size and inseam length), or other design feature. Thedesign can be specified by a pattern or cut used to form pieces of thepattern. A fabric is selected and patterned and cut 118 based on thedesign. The pattern pieces are assembled together 121 into the garment,typically by sewing, but can be joined together using other techniques(e.g., rivets, buttons, zipper, hoop and loop, adhesives, or othertechniques and structures to join fabrics and materials together).

Some garments can be complete after assembly and ready for sale.However, other garments are unfinished 122 and have additional finishing124, which includes laser finishing. The finishing may include tinting,washing, softening, and fixing. For distressed denim products, thefinishing can include using a laser to produce a wear pattern accordingto a design 127 (design II). Some additional details of laser finishingare described in U.S. patent application 62/377,447, filed Aug. 19,2016, and Ser. No. 15/682,507, filed Aug. 21, 2017, issued as U.S. Pat.No. 10,051,905 on Aug. 21, 2018, which incorporated by reference alongwith all other references cited in this application. U.S. patentapplications 62/636,108, filed Feb. 27, 2018, and 62/715,788, filed Aug.7, 2018, describe some specific implementations of a brief builderapplication and are incorporated by reference.

U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 16/288,035, 16/288,036, 16/288,038,16/288,042, 16/288,046, 16/288,047, 16/288,050, 16/288,053, and16/288,054, filed Feb. 27, 2019, are incorporated by reference.

Design 127 is for postassembly aspects of a garment while design 115 isfor preassembly aspects of a garment. After finishing, a finishedproduct 130 (e.g., a pair of jeans) is complete and ready for sale. Thefinished product is inventoried and distributed 133, delivered to stores136, and sold to consumers or customers 139. The consumer can buy andwear worn blue jeans without having to wear out the jeans themselves,which usually takes significant time and effort.

Traditionally, to produce distressed denim products, finishingtechniques include dry abrasion, wet processing, oxidation, or othertechniques, or combinations of these, to accelerate wear of the materialin order to produce a desired wear pattern. Dry abrasion can includesandblasting or using sandpaper. For example, some portions or localizedareas of the fabric are sanded to abrade the fabric surface. Wetprocessing can include washing in water, washing with oxidizers (e.g.,bleach, peroxide, ozone, or potassium permanganate), spraying withoxidizers, washing with abrasives (e.g., pumice, stone, or grit).

These traditional finishing approaches take time, incur expense, andimpact the environment by utilizing resources and producing waste. It isdesirable to reduce water and chemical usage, which can includeeliminating the use agents such as potassium permanganate and pumice. Analternative to these traditional finishing approaches is laserfinishing.

FIG. 2 shows a finishing technique that includes the use of a laser 207.A laser is a device that emits light through a process of opticalamplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagneticradiation. Lasers are used for bar code scanning, medical proceduressuch as corrective eye surgery, and industrial applications such aswelding. A particular type of laser for finishing apparel is a carbondioxide laser, which emits a beam of infrared radiation.

The laser is controlled by an input file 210 and control software 213 toemit a laser beam onto fabric at a particular position or location at aspecific power level for a specific amount of time. Further, the powerof the laser beam can be varied according to a waveform such as a pulsewave with a particular frequency, period, pulse width, or othercharacteristic. Some aspects of the laser that can be controlled includethe duty cycle, frequency, marking or burning speed, and otherparameters.

The duty cycle is a percentage of laser emission time. Some examples ofduty cycle percentages include 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 80, and 100 percent.The frequency is the laser pulse frequency. A low frequency might be,for example, 5 kilohertz, while a high frequency might be, for example,25 kilohertz. Generally, lower frequencies will have higher surfacepenetration than high frequencies, which has less surface penetration.

The laser acts like a printer and “prints,” “marks,” or “burns” a wearpattern (specified by input file 210) onto the garment. The fabric thatis exposed to the laser beam (e.g., infrared beam) changes color,lightening the fabric at a specified position by a certain amount basedon the laser power, time of exposure, and waveform used. The lasercontinues from position to position until the wear pattern is completelyprinted on the garment.

In a specific implementation, the laser has a resolution of about 34dots per inch (dpi), which on the garment is about 0.7 millimeters perpixel. The technique described in this patent is not dependent on thelaser's resolution, and will work with lasers have more or lessresolution than 34 dots per inch. For example, the laser can have aresolution of 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 72, 80, 96, 100, 120, 150,200, 300, or 600 dots per inch, or more or less than any of these orother values. Typically, the greater the resolution, the finer thefeatures that can be printed on the garment in a single pass. By usingmultiple passes (e.g., 2, 3, 4, 5, or more passes) with the laser, theeffective resolution can be increased. In an implementation, multiplelaser passes are used.

Jeans are dyed using an indigo dye, which results in a blue coloredfabric. The blue color is caused by chromophores trapped in the fabricwhich reflect light as a blue color. U.S. patent application 62/433,739,filed Dec. 13, 2016, which is incorporated by reference, describes adenim material with enhanced response characteristics to laserfinishing. Using a denim material made from indigo ring-dyed yarn,variations in highs and lows in indigo color shading is achieved byusing a laser.

FIG. 3 shows a weave pattern of a denim fabric 326. A loom does theweaving. In weaving, warp is the lengthwise or longitudinal yarn orthread in a roll, while weft or woof is the transverse thread. The weftyarn is drawn through the warp yarns to create the fabric. In FIG. 3,the warps extend in a first direction 335 (e.g., north and south) whilethe wefts extend in a direction 337 (e.g., east and west). The wefts areshown as a continuous yarn that zigzags across the wefts (e.g., carriedacross by a shuttle or a rapier of the loom). Alternatively, the weftscould be separate yarns. In some specific implementations, the warp yarnhas a different weight or thickness than the weft yarns. For example,warp yarns can be coarser than the weft yarns.

For denim, dyed yarn is used for the warp, and undyed or white yarn istypically used for the weft yarn. In some denim fabrics, the weft yarncan be dyed and have a color other than white, such as red. In the denimweave, the weft passes under two or more warp threads. FIG. 3 shows aweave with the weft passing under two warp threads. Specifically, thefabric weave is known as a 2×1 right-hand twill. For a right-hand twill,a direction of the diagonal is from a lower left to an upper right. Fora left-hand twill, a direction of the diagonal is from a lower right toan upper left. But in other denim weaves, the weft can pass under adifferent number of warp threads, such as 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or more. Inother implementation, the denim is a 3×1 right-hand twill, which meansthe weft passes under three warp threads.

Because of the weave, one side of the fabric exposes more of the warpyarns (e.g., warp-faced side), while the other side exposes more of theweft yarns (e.g., weft-faced side). When the warp yarns are blue andweft yarns are white, a result of the weave is the warp-faced side willappear mostly blue while the reverse side, weft-faced side, will appearmostly white.

In denim, the warp is typically 100 percent cotton. But some warp yarnscan be a blend with, for example, elastane to allow for warp stretch.And some yarns for other fabrics may contain other fibers, such aspolyester or elastane as examples.

In an indigo ring-dyed yarn, the indigo does not fully penetrate to acore of the yarn. Rather, the indigo dye is applied at a surface of thecotton yarn and diffuses toward the interior of the yarn. So when theyarn is viewed cross-sectionally, the indigo dyed material will appearas a ring on around an outer edge of the yarn. The shading of the indigodye will generally lighten in a gradient as a distance increases fromthe surface of the yarn to the center (or core) of the yarn.

During laser finishing, the laser removes a selected amount of thesurface of the indigo dyed yarn (e.g., blue color) to reveal a lightercolor (e.g., white color) of the inner core of the ring-dyed yarn. Themore of the indigo dyed material that is removed, the lighter the color(e.g., lighter shade of blue). The more of the indigo dyed material thatremains, the darker the color (e.g., deeper shade of blue). The lasercan be controlled precisely to remove a desired amount of material toachieve a desired shade of blue in a desired place or position on thematerial.

With laser finishing, a finish can be applied (e.g., printed or burnedvia the laser) onto apparel (e.g., jeans and denim garments) that willappear similar to or indistinguishable from a finish obtained usingtraditional processing techniques (e.g., dry abrasion, wet processing,and oxidation). Laser finishing of apparel is less costly and is fasterthan traditional finishing techniques and also has reduced environmentalimpact (e.g., eliminating the use of harsh chemical agents and reducingwaste).

FIGS. 4-7 show how the laser alters the color of ring-dyed yarn. FIG. 4shows a laser beam 407 striking a ring-dyed yarn 413 having indigo-dyedfibers 418 and white core fibers 422. The laser removes the dyed fibers,which can be by vaporizing or otherwise destroying the cotton fiber viaheat or high temperature that the laser beam causes.

FIG. 5 shows the laser using a first power level setting or firstexposure time setting, or a combination of these, to remove some of thedyed fibers, but not revealing any of the white core fibers. The undyedfibers remain covered. There is no color change.

FIG. 6 shows the laser using a second power level setting or secondexposure time setting, or a combination of these, to remove more of thedyed fibers than in FIG. 5. The second power level is greater than thefirst power level, or the second exposure time setting is greater thanthe first exposure time setting, or a combination of these. The resultis some of the undyed fibers are revealed. There is a color change,subtle highlighting.

FIG. 7 shows the laser using a third power level setting or thirdexposure time setting, or a combination of these, to remove even more ofthe dyed fibers than in FIG. 6. The third power level is greater thanthe second power level, or the third exposure time setting is greaterthan the second exposure time setting, or a combination of these. Theresult is more of the undyed fibers are revealed. There is a colorchange, brighter highlighting.

As shown in FIG. 2, before laser 207, the fabric can be prepared 216 forthe laser, which may be referred to as a base preparation, and caninclude a prelaser wash. This step helps improves the results of thelaser. After the laser, there can be a postlaser wash 219. This wash canclean or remove any residue caused by the laser, such as removing anycharring (which would appear as brown or slightly burning). There can beadditional finish 221, which may be including tinting, softening, orfixing, to complete finishing.

FIG. 8 shows a technique where finishing 124 is divided into twofinishing steps, finishing I and finishing II. Finishing I 808 is aninitial finishing to create base templates 811. With finishing II 814,each base template can be used to manufacture multiple final finishes817.

FIG. 9 shows multiple base templates, base A, base B, and base C. Thesebase templates may be referred to as base fit fabrics or BFFs. In animplementation, the base templates can be created during base prep andprelaser wash 216 (see FIG. 2). During finishing I, by using differentwash 216 methods or recipes, each different base template can becreated.

Finishing II can include laser finishing. Base A is lasered withdifferent designs to obtain various final product based on base A (e.g.,FP(A)1 to FP(A)i, where i is an integer). Base B is lasered withdifferent designs to obtain various final products based on base B(e.g., FP(B)1 to FP(B)j, where j is an integer). Base C is lasered withdifferent designs to obtain various final products based on base C(e.g., FP(C)1 to FP(C)k, where k is an integer). Each base can be usedto obtain a number of different final designs. For example, the integersi, j, and k can have different values.

As described above and shown in FIG. 2, after finishing II, there can beadditional finishing during post laser wash 219 and additional finishing221. For example, during the postlaser wash, there may be additionaltinting to the lasered garments. This tinting can result in an overallcolor cast to change the look of the garment.

In an implementation, laser finishing is used to create many differentfinishes (each a different product) easily and quickly from the samefabric template or BFF or “blank.” For each fabric, there will be anumber of base fit fabrics. These base fit fabrics are lasered toproduce many different finishes, each being a different product for aproduct line. Laser finishing allows greater efficiency because by usingfabric templates (or base fit fabrics), a single fabric or material canbe used to create many different products for a product line, more thanis possible with traditional processing. This reduces the inventory ofdifferent fabric and finish raw materials.

For a particular product (e.g., 511 product), there can be two differentfabrics, such as base B and base C of FIG. 9. The fabrics can be part ofa fabric tool kit. For base B, there are multiple base fit fabrics,FP(B)1, FP(B)2, and so forth. Using laser finishing, a base fit fabric(e.g., FP(B)1) can be used to product any number of different finishes(e.g., eight different finishes), each of which would be considered adifferent product model.

For example, FP(B)1 can be laser finished using different laser files(e.g., laser file 1, laser file 2, laser file 3, or others) or havedifferent postlaser wash (e.g., postlaser wash recipe 1, postlaser washrecipe 2, postlaser wash recipe 3, or others), or any combination ofthese. A first product would be base fit fabric FP(B)1 lasered usinglaser file 1 and washed using postlaser wash recipe 1. A second productwould be base fit fabric FP(B)1 lasered using laser file 2 and washedusing postlaser wash recipe 1. A third product would be base fit fabricFP(B)1 lasered using laser file 2 and washed using postlaser wash recipe2. And there can be many more products based on the same base fitfabric. Each can have a different product identifier or uniqueidentifier, such as a different PC9 or nine-digit product code.

With laser finishing, many products or PC9s are produced for each basefit fabric or blank. Compared to traditional processing, this is asignificant improvement in providing greater numbers of differentproducts with less different fabrics and finishes (each of which intraditional processing consume resources, increasing cost, and taketime). Inventory is reduced. The technique of providing base fitfinishes or fabric templates for laser finishing has significant andmany benefits.

A system incorporating laser finishing can include a computer to controlor monitor operation, or both. FIG. 10 shows an example of a computerthat is component of a laser finishing system. The computer may be aseparate unit that is connected to a system, or may be embedded inelectronics of the system. In an embodiment, the invention includessoftware that executes on a computer workstation system or server, suchas shown in FIG. 10.

FIG. 10 is a simplified block diagram of a distributed computer network1000 incorporating an embodiment of the present invention. Computernetwork 1000 includes a number of client systems 1013, 1016, and 1019,and a server system 1022 coupled to a communication network 1024 via aplurality of communication links 1028. Communication network 1024provides a mechanism for allowing the various components of distributednetwork 1000 to communicate and exchange information with each other.

Communication network 1024 may itself be comprised of manyinterconnected computer systems and communication links. Communicationlinks 1028 may be hardwire links, optical links, satellite or otherwireless communications links, wave propagation links, or any othermechanisms for communication of information. Communication links 1028may be DSL, Cable, Ethernet or other hardwire links, passive or activeoptical links, 3G, 3.5G, 4G and other mobility, satellite or otherwireless communications links, wave propagation links, or any othermechanisms for communication of information.

Various communication protocols may be used to facilitate communicationbetween the various systems shown in FIG. 10. These communicationprotocols may include VLAN, MPLS, TCP/IP, Tunneling, HTTP protocols,wireless application protocol (WAP), vendor-specific protocols,customized protocols, and others. While in one embodiment, communicationnetwork 1024 is the Internet, in other embodiments, communicationnetwork 1024 may be any suitable communication network including a localarea network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless network, anintranet, a private network, a public network, a switched network, andcombinations of these, and the like.

Distributed computer network 1000 in FIG. 10 is merely illustrative ofan embodiment incorporating the present invention and does not limit thescope of the invention as recited in the claims. One of ordinary skillin the art would recognize other variations, modifications, andalternatives. For example, more than one server system 1022 may beconnected to communication network 1024. As another example, a number ofclient systems 1013, 1016, and 1019 may be coupled to communicationnetwork 1024 via an access provider (not shown) or via some other serversystem.

Client systems 1013, 1016, and 1019 typically request information from aserver system which provides the information. For this reason, serversystems typically have more computing and storage capacity than clientsystems. However, a particular computer system may act as both as aclient or a server depending on whether the computer system isrequesting or providing information. Additionally, although aspects ofthe invention have been described using a client-server environment, itshould be apparent that the invention may also be embodied in astandalone computer system.

Server 1022 is responsible for receiving information requests fromclient systems 1013, 1016, and 1019, performing processing required tosatisfy the requests, and for forwarding the results corresponding tothe requests back to the requesting client system. The processingrequired to satisfy the request may be performed by server system 1022or may alternatively be delegated to other servers connected tocommunication network 1024.

Client systems 1013, 1016, and 1019 enable users to access and queryinformation stored by server system 1022. In a specific embodiment, theclient systems can run as a standalone application such as a desktopapplication or mobile smartphone or tablet application. In anotherembodiment, a “Web browser” application executing on a client systemenables users to select, access, retrieve, or query information storedby server system 1022. Examples of Web browsers include the InternetExplorer browser program provided by Microsoft Corporation, Firefoxbrowser provided by Mozilla, Chrome browser provided by Google, Safaribrowser provided by Apple, and others.

In a client-server environment, some resources (e.g., files, music,video, or data) are stored at the client while others are stored ordelivered from elsewhere in the network, such as a server, andaccessible via the network (e.g., the Internet). Therefore, the user'sdata can be stored in the network or “cloud.” For example, the user canwork on documents on a client device that are stored remotely on thecloud (e.g., server). Data on the client device can be synchronized withthe cloud.

FIG. 11 shows an exemplary client or server system of the presentinvention. In an embodiment, a user interfaces with the system through acomputer workstation system, such as shown in FIG. 11. FIG. 11 shows acomputer system 1101 that includes a monitor 1103, screen 1105,enclosure 1107 (may also be referred to as a system unit, cabinet, orcase), keyboard or other human input device 1109, and mouse or otherpointing device 1111. Mouse 1111 may have one or more buttons such asmouse buttons 1113.

It should be understood that the present invention is not limited anycomputing device in a specific form factor (e.g., desktop computer formfactor), but can include all types of computing devices in various formfactors. A user can interface with any computing device, includingsmartphones, personal computers, laptops, electronic tablet devices,global positioning system (GPS) receivers, portable media players,personal digital assistants (PDAs), other network access devices, andother processing devices capable of receiving or transmitting data.

For example, in a specific implementation, the client device can be asmartphone or tablet device, such as the Apple iPhone (e.g., AppleiPhone 6), Apple iPad (e.g., Apple iPad, Apple iPad Pro, or Apple iPadmini), Apple iPod (e.g, Apple iPod Touch), Samsung Galaxy product (e.g.,Galaxy S series product or Galaxy Note series product), Google Nexus andPixel devices (e.g., Google Nexus 6, Google Nexus 7, or Google Nexus 9),and Microsoft devices (e.g., Microsoft Surface tablet). Typically, asmartphone includes a telephony portion (and associated radios) and acomputer portion, which are accessible via a touch screen display.

There is nonvolatile memory to store data of the telephone portion(e.g., contacts and phone numbers) and the computer portion (e.g.,application programs including a browser, pictures, games, videos, andmusic). The smartphone typically includes a camera (e.g., front facingcamera or rear camera, or both) for taking pictures and video. Forexample, a smartphone or tablet can be used to take live video that canbe streamed to one or more other devices.

Enclosure 1107 houses familiar computer components, some of which arenot shown, such as a processor, memory, mass storage devices 1117, andthe like. Mass storage devices 1117 may include mass disk drives, floppydisks, magnetic disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, fixeddisks, hard disks, CD-ROMs, recordable CDs, DVDs, recordable DVDs (e.g.,DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, HD-DVD, or Blu-ray Disc), flash and othernonvolatile solid-state storage (e.g., USB flash drive or solid statedrive (SSD)), battery-backed-up volatile memory, tape storage, reader,and other similar media, and combinations of these.

A computer-implemented or computer-executable version or computerprogram product of the invention may be embodied using, stored on, orassociated with computer-readable medium. A computer-readable medium mayinclude any medium that participates in providing instructions to one ormore processors for execution. Such a medium may take many formsincluding, but not limited to, nonvolatile, volatile, and transmissionmedia. Nonvolatile media includes, for example, flash memory, or opticalor magnetic disks. Volatile media includes static or dynamic memory,such as cache memory or RAM. Transmission media includes coaxial cables,copper wire, fiber optic lines, and wires arranged in a bus.Transmission media can also take the form of electromagnetic, radiofrequency, acoustic, or light waves, such as those generated duringradio wave and infrared data communications.

For example, a binary, machine-executable version, of the software ofthe present invention may be stored or reside in RAM or cache memory, oron mass storage device 1117. The source code of the software of thepresent invention may also be stored or reside on mass storage device1117 (e.g., hard disk, magnetic disk, tape, or CD-ROM). As a furtherexample, code of the invention may be transmitted via wires, radiowaves, or through a network such as the Internet.

FIG. 12 shows a system block diagram of computer system 1101 used toexecute the software of the present invention. As in FIG. 11, computersystem 1101 includes monitor 1103, keyboard 1109, and mass storagedevices 1117. Computer system 1101 further includes subsystems such ascentral processor 1202, system memory 1204, input/output (I/O)controller 1206, display adapter 1208, serial or universal serial bus(USB) port 1212, network interface 1218, and speaker 1220. The inventionmay also be used with computer systems with additional or fewersubsystems. For example, a computer system could include more than oneprocessor 1202 (i.e., a multiprocessor system) or a system may include acache memory.

Arrows such as 1222 represent the system bus architecture of computersystem 1101. However, these arrows are illustrative of anyinterconnection scheme serving to link the subsystems. For example,speaker 1220 could be connected to the other subsystems through a portor have an internal direct connection to central processor 1202. Theprocessor may include multiple processors or a multicore processor,which may permit parallel processing of information. Computer system1101 shown in FIG. 12 is but an example of a computer system suitablefor use with the present invention. Other configurations of subsystemssuitable for use with the present invention will be readily apparent toone of ordinary skill in the art.

Computer software products may be written in any of various suitableprogramming languages, such as C, C++, C#, Pascal, Fortran, Perl, MATLAB(from MathWorks, www.mathworks.com), SAS, SPSS, JavaScript, AJAX, Java,Python, Erlang, and Ruby on Rails. The computer software product may bean independent application with data input and data display modules.Alternatively, the computer software products may be classes that may beinstantiated as distributed objects. The computer software products mayalso be component software such as Java Beans (from Oracle Corporation)or Enterprise Java Beans (EJB from Oracle Corporation).

An operating system for the system may be one of the Microsoft Windows®family of systems (e.g., Windows 95, 98, Me, Windows NT, Windows 2000,Windows XP, Windows XP x64 Edition, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8,Windows 10, Windows CE, Windows Mobile, Windows RT), Symbian OS, Tizen,Linux, HP-UX, UNIX, Sun OS, Solaris, Mac OS X, Apple iOS, Android, AlphaOS, AIX, IRIX32, or IRIX64. Other operating systems may be used.Microsoft Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

Any trademarks or service marks used in this patent are property oftheir respective owner. Any company, product, or service names in thispatent are for identification purposes only. Use of these names, logos,and brands does not imply endorsement.

Furthermore, the computer may be connected to a network and mayinterface to other computers using this network. The network may be anintranet, internet, or the Internet, among others. The network may be awired network (e.g., using copper), telephone network, packet network,an optical network (e.g., using optical fiber), or a wireless network,or any combination of these. For example, data and other information maybe passed between the computer and components (or steps) of a system ofthe invention using a wireless network using a protocol such as Wi-Fi(IEEE standards 802.11, 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11e, 802.11g, 802.11i,802.11n, 802.11ac, and 802.11ad, just to name a few examples), nearfield communication (NFC), radio-frequency identification (RFID), mobileor cellular wireless (e.g., 2G, 3G, 4G, 3GPP LTE, WiMAX, LTE, LTEAdvanced, Flash-OFDM, HIPERMAN, iBurst, EDGE Evolution, UMTS, UMTS-TDD,1×RDD, and EV-DO). For example, signals from a computer may betransferred, at least in part, wirelessly to components or othercomputers.

In an embodiment, with a Web browser executing on a computer workstationsystem, a user accesses a system on the World Wide Web (WWW) through anetwork such as the Internet. The Web browser is used to download Webpages or other content in various formats including HTML, XML, text,PDF, and postscript, and may be used to upload information to otherparts of the system. The Web browser may use uniform resourceidentifiers (URLs) to identify resources on the Web and hypertexttransfer protocol (HTTP) in transferring files on the Web.

In other implementations, the user accesses the system through either orboth of native and nonnative applications. Native applications arelocally installed on the particular computing system and are specific tothe operating system or one or more hardware devices of that computingsystem, or a combination of these. These applications (which aresometimes also referred to as “apps”) can be updated (e.g.,periodically) via a direct internet upgrade patching mechanism orthrough an applications store (e.g., Apple iTunes and App store, GooglePlay store, Windows Phone store, and Blackberry App World store).

The system can run in platform-independent, nonnative applications. Forexample, client can access the system through a Web application from oneor more servers using a network connection with the server or serversand load the Web application in a Web browser. For example, a Webapplication can be downloaded from an application server over theInternet by a Web browser. Nonnative applications can also be obtainedfrom other sources, such as a disk.

FIGS. 13-14 show examples of mobile devices, which can be mobileclients. Mobile devices are specific implementations of a computer, suchas described above. FIG. 13 shows a smartphone device 1301, and FIG. 14shows a tablet device 1401. Some examples of smartphones include theApple iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, and Google Nexus family of devices. Someexamples of tablet devices include the Apple iPad, Apple iPad Pro,Samsung Galaxy Tab, and Google Nexus family of devices.

Smartphone 1301 has an enclosure that includes a screen 1303, button1309, speaker 1311, camera 1313, and proximity sensor 1335. The screencan be a touch screen that detects and accepts input from finger touchor a stylus. The technology of the touch screen can be a resistive,capacitive, infrared grid, optical imaging, or pressure-sensitive,dispersive signal, acoustic pulse recognition, or others. The touchscreen is screen and a user input device interface that acts as a mouseand keyboard of a computer.

Button 1309 is sometimes referred to as a home button and is used toexit a program and return the user to the home screen. The phone mayalso include other buttons (not shown) such as volume buttons and on-offbutton on a side. The proximity detector can detect a user's face isclose to the phone, and can disable the phone screen and its touchsensor, so that there will be no false inputs from the user's face beingnext to screen when talking.

Tablet 1401 is similar to a smartphone. Tablet 1401 has an enclosurethat includes a screen 1403, button 1409, and camera 1413. Typically thescreen (e.g., touch screen) of a tablet is larger than a smartphone,usually 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, or more inches (measured diagonally).

FIG. 15 shows a system block diagram of mobile device 1501 used toexecute the software of the present invention. This block diagram isrepresentative of the components of smartphone or tablet device. Themobile device system includes a screen 1503 (e.g., touch screen),buttons 1509, speaker 1511, camera 1513, motion sensor 1515, lightsensor 1517, microphone 1519, indicator light 1521, and external port1523 (e.g., USB port or Apple Lightning port). These components cancommunicate with each other via a bus 1525.

The system includes wireless components such as a mobile networkconnection 1527 (e.g., mobile telephone or mobile data), Wi-Fi 1529,Bluetooth 1531, GPS 1533 (e.g., detect GPS positioning), other sensors1535 such as a proximity sensor, CPU 1537, RAM memory 1539, storage 1541(e.g. nonvolatile memory), and battery 1543 (lithium ion or lithiumpolymer cell). The battery supplies power to the electronic componentsand is rechargeable, which allows the system to be mobile.

FIG. 16 shows a block diagram of a system for creating, designing,producing apparel products with laser finishing. A box line plan 1602 isan internal and interim tool for communication between a merchandisinggroup and design group. Through the box line plan, merchandising cancommunicate what needs to be designed by the design group. The box lineplan can have open slots to be designed 1609.

There is a digital design tool 1616 merchants and design can use toclick and drag finish effects (e.g., laser files) and tint casts overimages of base washes in order to visualize possible combinations andbuild the line visually before the garment finish is actually finishedby the laser. The visualizations can be by rendering on a computersystem, such as using three-dimensional (3D) graphics.

U.S. patent application 62/433,746, filed Dec. 13, 2016, which isincorporated by reference, describes a system and operating model ofapparel manufacture with laser finishing. Laser finishing of apparelproducts allows an operating model that reduces finishing cost, lowerscarrying costs, increases productivity, shortens time to market, be morereactive to trends, reduce product constraints, reduces lost sales anddilution, and more. Improved aspects include design, development,planning, merchandising, selling, making, and delivering. The model usesfabric templates, each of which can be used be produce a multitude oflaser finishes. Operational efficiency is improved.

Designers can use the digital design tool to design products that areused to satisfy the requests in open slots 1609. Designs created usingthe digital design tool can be stored in a digital library 1622. Inputto the digital design tool include fabric templates or blanks 1627(e.g., base fit fabrics or BFFs), existing finishes 1633 (e.g., can befurther modified by the tool 1616), and new finishes 1638. New finishescan be from designs 1641 (e.g., vintage design) captured using a laserfinish software tool 1645, examples of which are described in U.S.patent applications 62/377,447, filed Aug. 19, 2016, and Ser. No.15/682,507, filed Aug. 21, 2017. Digital library 1622 can be accessibleby the region assorting and sell-in 1650. And the digital library can beused populate or satisfy the box line plan.

FIG. 17 shows a block diagram of a specific implementation of a digitaldesign tool, a preview tool 1703. Digital design tool 1616 can berepresentative of a collection of tools, such as an application suite,including desktop or mobile apps, or a combination.

Preview tool 1703 can be a single tool in a toolbox or toolkit used forlaser finishing of garments, or the tool can be incorporated as afeature of another tool. The preview tool allows a user such as aclothing designer to preview on a computer screen or to generate adigital representation (e.g., image file, JPEG file, BMP file, TIFFfile, GIF file, PNG file, PSD file, or others) of jeans in a selectedbase fit fabric or fabric template 1706 with a selected laser pattern1709 (e.g., from a laser input file). With the digital representation,the user will be able to see or preview the jeans in the selected basefit fabric as if it had been burned with the selected laser input file,without needing to actually laser or burn the jeans.

Some files are described as being of an image file type. Some examplesof image file types or file formats include bitmap or raster graphicsformats including IMG, TIFF, EXIF, JPEG, GIF, PNG, PBM, PGM, PPM, BMP,and RAW. The compression for the file can be lossless (e.g., TIFF) orlossy (e.g., JPEG). Other image file types or file formats includevector graphics including DXF, SVG, and the like.

Bitmaps or raster graphics are resolution dependent while vectorgraphics are resolution independent. Raster graphics generally cannotscale up to an arbitrary resolution without loss of apparent quality.This property contrasts with the capabilities of vector graphics, whichgenerally easily scale up to the quality of the device rendering them.

A raster graphics image is a dot matrix data structure representing agenerally rectangular grid of pixels, or points of color, viewable via amonitor, paper, or other display medium. A bitmap, such as a single-bitraster, corresponds bit-for-bit with an image displayed on a screen oroutput medium. A raster is characterized by the width and height of theimage in pixels and by the number of bits per pixel (or color depth,which determines the number of colors it can represent).

The BMP file format is an example of a bitmap. The BMP file format, alsoknown as bitmap image file or device independent bitmap (DIB) fileformat or simply a bitmap, is a raster graphics image file format usedto store bitmap digital images, independently of the display device. TheBMP file format is capable of storing two-dimensional digital images ofarbitrary width, height, and resolution, both monochrome and color, invarious color depths, and optionally with data compression, alphachannels, and color profiles.

The fabric template can be selected from a library of fabric templateimages 1716 or may be a new image uploaded or provided by the user. Eachfabric template images is an image file of a jeans in a base fit fabricor other material. For each jeans model or fit (e.g., models or fits311, 501, 505, 511, 515, 541, 569, 721, and others), there would be oneimage in each different material or base fit fabric.

The laser input file can be selected from a library of laser input files1722 (e.g., files created from vintage jeans or from a group ofdesigners), may be a file 1718 created by the user, or may be a fileuploaded or provided by the user. For example, the user may have createdthe laser pattern (contained within a laser input file) manually using agraphical or image editing tool (e.g., Adobe Photoshop and similar photoediting programs). Or the laser pattern may have been created byanother, such as selected from a library of laser files. The laserpattern may be generated by a computer or automated process, such as maybe used to obtain a laser pattern from vintage jeans. The user will beable to see the results of a burn, make any manual changes oralterations to the pattern (such as additional changes to a vintage jeanpattern in a digital image file) and preview the results again. Thepreview tool allows a user to make and see changes, to the user canobtain feedback faster than having to laser jeans to see the results andalso avoiding unneeded waste (e.g., preliminary versions of burnedjeans).

Each digital representation can be saved in a separate images, and agroup or set of the images can be a called brief of collection of jeans.The preview tool can be used for merchandising, such as generatingimages of a proposed line of products for a particular season, and theseimages can be shared among members of a team to discuss any additions,changes, or deletions to a collection.

A specific version of the preview tool overlays a fabric template inputfile and a laser input file, and then generates an image to display themtogether as a representation of the laser-finished apparel. The laserinput file is aligned to the garment in the fabric template input file,so that the positioning of features in the laser input file and atappropriate positions or places on the garment. The alignment may be byusing alignment marks that are in the input files. The alignment may bean automated alignment or scaling, or a combination.

Brightness, intensity, opacity, blending, transparency, or otheradjustable parameters for an image layer, or any combination of these,are selected or adjusted for the laser input file, so that when thelaser input file is overlaid above the fabric template image, the lookof the garment will appear of simulate the look of a garment had beenburned by a laser using that laser input file.

Adjustable parameters such as opacity can be used to blend two or moreimage layers together. For example, a layer's overall opacity determinesto what degree it obscures or reveals the layer beneath it. For example,a layer with 1 percent opacity appears nearly transparent, while onewith 100 percent opacity appears completely opaque.

Further, a dots per inch (dpi) of the combined image can be adjusted toalso more properly simulate the look of a garment more closely with aburned garment. Dots per inch refers to the number of dots in a printedinch. The more dots, the higher the quality of the print (e.g., moresharpness and detail). By reducing the dpi of the image, this willreduce the image quality, resulting a blurring of the image. In animplementation, the preview tool reduces a dpi of the combined image, tobe of less dpi than the fabric template input file or the laser inputfile. By blurring the preview image, this results in improved simulationthat corresponds better to a burned laser garment. When burning agarment, the garment material or fabric typically limits the resolutionof the result to less than that of the input file.

In an implementation, the dpi of the laser input file is about 72 dpi,while the dpi of the preview image is about 34 dpi. In animplementation, the dpi of the fabric template input file and laserinput file are about 36 dpi or above, while the dpi of the preview imageis about 36 dpi or lower.

FIG. 18 shows a block diagram of a digital brief tool 1803, which alsolike preview tool 1703, provides a real-time preview of an appearance ofpair of jeans when a finishing pattern is applied by burning using alaser input file. The digital brief tool has additional features toallow more flexible designing of jeans.

It should be understood that the invention is not limited to thespecific flows and steps presented. A flow of the invention may haveadditional steps (not necessarily described in this patent), differentsteps which replace some of the steps presented, fewer steps or a subsetof the steps presented, or steps in a different order than presented, orany combination of these. Further, the steps in other implementations ofthe invention may not be exactly the same as the steps presented and maybe modified or altered as appropriate for a particular application orbased on the data or situation.

The digital brief tool takes as input three types of digital assets1805, fabric template input 1816, damage input 1819, and laser inputfile 1822. Fabric template input 1816 and laser input file 1822 aresimilar to the inputs for the preview tool. Damage input 1819 is animage of damage (e.g., holes, rips, shredded regions, or openings ofvarious shapes and sizes) that can be burned by a laser into jeans. Thedigital brief tool overlays the damage and laser input files over thefabric template.

The user selects a fabric template input, which an image of a jeansstyle in a particular base fit fabric. The user can optionally selectone or more damage inputs. If a damage input is selected, the damageinput will be a layer that overlays the fabric template layer. As forthe preview tool, the user selects a laser input file with laser patternand overlays the fabric template layer. As the user selects the inputs,the user will be able to see in real time the inputs and any changes orupdates in a preview image or brief.

After the inputs are selected, the user can select and perform one ormore operations 1826 on the inputs using the digital brief tool. Theseoperations including adding tint 1831, adjusting intensity 1834,adjusting bright point 1837, move digital asset 1842, rotate digitalasset 1845, scale digital asset 1848, and warp digital asset 1852. Asthe user selects and performs one or more operations, the user will beable to see in real time the changes or updates in the preview image orbrief.

After the fabric template input, the user can add tinting 1831. Tintingwill adjust the hue of the color of the fabric template input. Tintingis representative of the tinting which can be added during the postlaserwash or finishing II, described above. The user will be able to select atint color, and this tint color will be blended with the existing colorof the fabric template input. The amount or intensity of the tinting canbe increased or decreased, such as by using a slider bar.

The user can adjust intensity 1834. In an implementation, intensityadjusts a weight matrix by a percentage of each value in the array. Inan implementation, intensity (or brightness) adjusts an opacity of agenerated adjustment layer (see hue saturation lightness adjustmentlayer described below). The greater the opacity, the more opaque thislayer will appear in the preview or brief image. The less the opacity,the less opaque this layer will appear in the preview or brief image;the layer will appear more transparent so that the layer beneath willshow through more.

When increasing brightness, the opacity of the adjustment layerincreases, and since the adjustment layer is above the fabric templateinput, the generated adjustment layer will become more prominent orvisible, thus making this layer (which has the wear pattern) brighter.Similarly, when decreasing brightness, the opacity of the adjustmentlayer decreases, the generated adjustment layer will become lessprominent or visible, thus making this layer (which has the wearpattern) less bright or fainter. The amount of the intensity can beincreased or decreased, such as by using a slider bar.

The user can adjust bright point 1837. Bright point adjusts the effectof the laser input file on the fabric template input. In animplementation, bright point adjustment changes a midpoint of agrayscale, creating a piecewise linear mapping of the pattern file.

Increasing the bright point will increase an effect of the laser pattern(e.g., causing greater laser pattern highlights) in the laser input fileon the fabric template input, while decreasing the bright point does theopposite (e.g., diminishing laser pattern highlights). The bright pointadjustment can be analogous to changing a pixel time or the time thatthe laser stays at a particular position for a given input from thelaser input file. The amount of the bright point can be increased ordecreased, such as by using a slider bar.

The user can move 1842 or reposition a selected digital asset. Forexample, a damage input (or fabric template or laser file) may be movedto a position desired by the user. The user can rotate 1845 a selecteddigital asset. For example, a damage input (or fabric template or laserfile) may be rotated to any angle relative to the other layers asdesired by the user.

The user can scale 1848 a selected digital asset. This scaling can belocked, maintaining the original aspect ratio of the digital asset, orcan be unlocked, such that the user can change the aspect ratio. Theuser can warp 1852 a selected digital asset. With warping, the user canadjust an aspect ratio of a portion of the digital asset differentlyfrom another portion. For example, one portion of a damage input (orfabric template or laser file) can be squished (e.g., right and leftedges of image pushed toward each other) while another portion isexpanded (e.g., right and left edges of image pulled away from eachother).

After the user has performed selected operations 1826, the digital brieftool shows an image of the jeans with the laser finishing pattern,including any tinting, damage, or other adjustments, as created by theuser. This image can be saved and viewed again later. A user can createmultiple designs, and these can be saved together as part of acollection.

FIG. 19 shows a technique of generating a preview of a finished imageusing a digital brief tool. A base image (or fabric template input) isselected. A hue saturation lightness (HSL) adjustment layer is createdor generated for the selected base image. The HSL adjustment layer canbe the base layer with an adjustment for hue saturation lightness. Whentinting is selected, a solid color adjustment layer is created orgenerated. The solid color adjustment layer has a solid color (e.g.,yellow, green, red, blue, or other color that is used for tinting thegarment) that is in the same form or outline as the garment (e.g.,pants), as indicated by the dotted lines in the figure.

To obtain a final result, which is the final image of the jeans withlaser finishing pattern, a laser pattern mask is combined with the baseimage and HSL adjustment layer. A resulting combination will be based onintensity and bright point settings.

The laser pattern mask is a negative image or reverse image of the laserinput file. For the laser input file, during laser burning, a whitepixel means the pixel is not lasered (which results in the originalindigo color of the fabric), and a black pixel means the pixel will belasered at highest level (which results in the whitest color that can beachieved on the fabric). In an implementation, the laser input file has256 levels of gray, and for levels between 0 (e.g., black) and 255(e.g., white), then the amount of laser burning will be proportionallysomewhere in between.

FIG. 20 shows a block diagram of a technique of generating a preview ofa laser finishing pattern on a garment, such as jeans. The technique maybe embodied in a preview generation tool 2001. Inputs to a createpreview image process 2002 include a base template image 2007 and laserinput file 2009. The base template image is used to create an adjustedbase template image 2017, which is also input to the create previewimage process. These create preview image process uses these threeinputs to create a preview image 2027, which can be displayed on acomputer screen for the user.

The adjusted base template image is created from the base template imageby adjusting its hue, saturation, or lightness, or any combination ofthese. Compared to the original base template image, the adjusted basetemplate image will appear washed out or bleached. In other words, theadjusted base template image will appear as if the garment in the basetemplate image were fully bleached or lasered. The adjusted basetemplate image can be an HLS adjustment layer as discussed above.

Digital Brief Tool

Embodiments of a digital brief tool (or garment preview tool) mayexecute on Apple Inc.'s iPad Pro tablet computer device. Although thescreens portray the digital brief tool as executing on an iPad Pro,other suitable electronic devices may execute the digital brief tool.For example, the digital brief tool may execute on a Windows device(e.g., Windows 10 tablet), an Android device, other iPad product familymodels (e.g., iPad or iPad mini), or many other devices.

The iPad Pro 12.9 is a tablet device with rectangular dimensions of 12inches by 8.68 inch, and is 0.27 inches thick. The iPad Pro has a12.9-inch screen, and has nonvolatile memory storage of 64, 256, or 512gigabytes. The iPad Pro has network connectivity via Wi-Fi andoptionally cellular. The iPad Pro has an A10X Fusion chip with 64-bitarchitecture and an embedded M10 coprocessor. Some features of thedigital brief tool can be accelerated by using specialized featuresavailable in the A10X Fusion chip or embedded M10 coprocessor, or both.An operating system of the iPad Pro is Apple iOS 11 (or greater whenreleased). Further, the iPad Pro can be operated with a stylus, theApple Pencil product. And in an implementation, the use can use theApple Pencil with the digital brief tool.

The digital brief tool includes various features, allowing a designer toselect, create, and visualize how an apparel item will look with certaincharacteristics, before the apparel item is produced. The digital brieftool may allow the designer, for one or more characteristics of aproposed apparel item, to assign one or more options to each of thecharacteristics. While assigning the options for characteristics, thedigital brief tool allows the designer to see, based on currentlyassigned options, how the apparel item may appear when produced, in realtime as changes are made.

Selecting gender, series, fit, fabric, or other characteristics in thedigital brief tool may result in having only relevant options presentedto the designer. For example, some characteristics or options may bespecific to a particular gender. Upon selection of the particulargender, characteristics and options with the selected gender will appearfor the designer to use for a proposed apparel item.

In an implementation, the digital brief tool is adapted for use withproducing jeans. For example, the following figures may include variouscharacteristics and options relevant to designing and stylizing ofjeans. However, the digital brief tool may be adapted for use with otherapparel items, such as shirts, jackets, pants, or socks.

Some specific implementations of the digital brief tool are discussed inU.S. application Ser. Nos. 16/177,387, 16/177,412, and 16/177,407, filedOct. 31, 2018, which are incorporated by reference.

Apparel Management System

FIG. 21 shows a system for apparel manufacturing and sales, where theapparel can include garments that have been finished using laserfinishing. There is an apparel management system 2122, which controlsoperation of the system. The apparel management system is connected by anetwork 2124 to components of the system, including sales and ordering2126, manufacturing 2128, and distribution and delivery 2130 components.The network can be a computer network, such as the Internet.

Using the sales and order component, a customer can preview and selectsgarments to order. The customer can be a buyer for a retail store,internal buyer for retail sales of a region, regional salesperson, orother customer. The sales process can include using a variety of toolsto assist a customer with showing available products, selecting productsto purchase, keeping an order within budget, accessing a history ofprevious orders, and customizing and selecting fits, styles, and sizesof products. As an example, the customer can view products and order viaa digital showroom. The products are shown digitally, which reduces theamount of physical samples that need to be produced. Further, thecustomer can also order via a Web site managed by the apparel managementsystem. After the customer completes the order, the order is sent viathe network (e.g., Internet) to the apparel management system.

The apparel management system sends the order to the manufacturingcomponent, where the order is made. Manufacturing can include cuttingthe fabric material, assembling or sewing together the cut panels, andfinishing the apparel item using a laser. An apparel manufacturer canhave numerous manufacturing centers, and the apparel management systemwill send the order to a manufacturing center that is appropriate forthe customer and order. The determination is based on a location of thecustomer (e.g., shipping time to customer from manufacturing center) andthe apparel item selected (e.g., availability of material). The systemensures the order will be fulfilled efficiently in short amount of time.

In an implementation, the laser finishing is done after the garment isassembled. Specifically, the material is cut, assembled into a garment,and then the garment is finished using a laser. The finishing is basedon style or customization selected by the customer in the order.

In another implementation, the laser finishing is before the garment isassembled. Specifically, before the material is cut, fabric rolls orsheets of material are finished using the laser. The finishing is basedon style or customization selected by the customer in the order. Thenthe material is cut into panels, and the panels are assembled into thegarment.

After manufacture of the garments of the order is complete, the apparelmanagement system controls distribution, shipping, and delivering of theordered garments to the customer. The apparel management system can sendthe customer tracking information for the order so that the customer cantrack the order.

Depending on various factors which may delay manufacture of some items,an order with multiple items may be sent to the customer in multiplepartial shipments rather than a single complete shipment. The items notshipped at the same time will be shipped later when available. Theapparel management system handles communicating with the customerregarding delays and provides an estimate of when the customer canexpect to receive the items of the order.

Digital Showroom Tool

FIG. 22 shows block diagram of a digital showroom system, which can bepart of the sales and ordering component 2126 of the apparelmanufacturing and sales system. A digital showroom 2208 is a salesshowroom where customers can visit and see apparel products, selectproducts, and then enter orders. The digital showroom can include largedisplay panels or projectors for customers to view, one or more tabletdevices, user input devices (e.g., keyboard, mouse, pointer, touchscreen, or touch panel), physical displays (e.g., mannequins, models,sample base fabric templates, and other samples), and one or moreprojectors for use with the physical displays.

The digital showroom 2208 is connected via a network 2216 to a digitalshowroom computing system 2223, which controls operation of the devicesand tools available in the digital showroom. The network can be acomputer network. The digital showroom computing system has access to aproduct info database (e.g., product lifecycle management (PLM)database), base templates, and laser input files. Previews of garmentproducts can be shown on the display panels, tablet, or on the physicaldisplays, or any combination of these.

Order Tool

FIG. 23 shows an order tool 2301, which can be tool that is part of thedigital showroom system. Using the order tool, the customer can order agarment for manufacture and delivery. The order tool allows the customerto select a design, preview the design, and order the design. Thecustomer can select a preset design, make a custom design, or makesemicustom design. A semicustom design is a design based on a previousdesign, such as a preset design or a previously saved design, which ismodified to obtain a new design. The tool also allows the customerupload a design or portion or a design to be manufacture. For example,an image can be captured by a camera, which is then uploaded via theorder tool. The order tool allows selection of sizing.

Virtual Storefront

FIGS. 24-30 describe a virtual storefront tool. The user will be able toview a virtual store with garments that are part of a collection, suchas created using assortment builder. The customer can view the virtualstore using image texture and color swap, augmented reality (AR), orvirtual reality (VR), or any combination of these.

For example, a user or customer has selected some products they areinterested in purchasing for sale in their store or other retaillocation. The virtual store preview tool allows the customer to see avisualization of how the products might appear together in a virtualstorefront which mimics a real-world environment, such as the productsplaced and displayed in a retail environment.

FIG. 24 shows a system diagram for a virtual storefront tool 2401. Auser at a device 2405 connects to the tool 2401. The tool has access todatabases 2410. The databases include a virtual storefront templatesdatabase with has stored a plurality of virtual storefronts. The virtualstorefronts may be modeled on real storefronts. The databases 2410includes a garments database. The garments may be garments developedusing the digital brief tool.

The tool 2401 includes various features. A user preference featurereceives information from the user at device 2405 to initialize thevirtual storefront. This may include selection of a particular virtualstorefront from the virtual storefront templates and a set of garmentsfrom the garments database. The user may also designate which garmentsto appear at which locations of the virtual storefront or the tool 2401may automatically designate garments to appear at locations of thevirtual storefront. The tool 2401 includes a virtual surface extractionfeature. A virtual storefront may include many different surfaces withinthe virtual storefront. There may be different types of virtual surfaceswithin a virtual storefront. For example, a virtual storefront mayinclude a rack virtual surface and a tabletop virtual surface. The tool2401 includes a garment populator feature. For example, the user mayhave designated garments to appear at virtual surfaces or the tool 2401may initialize default designations. The garment populator featuredetermines how, based on a type of virtual surface, how garments shouldappears on the virtual surface. The tool 2401 includes a deviceinterface feature. For example, depending on the particular type ofvirtual environment at the user's device 2405, different environmentsmay be created. For example, an augmented reality environment will bedifferent than a virtual reality environment.

FIG. 25 shows a flow of a system using the virtual storefront tool. In astep 2501, the system includes providing a garment previewing tool. Thegarment previewing tool may be the digital brief tool, as describedelsewhere in this application. The digital brief may provide variousoptions for a user, such as providing options for the user to select abase garment image. For example, the base garment image may be a jeansbase garment. The base garment image may be composed of any materialsuitable for laser finishing. The user may also select a wear pattern,associated with a laser pattern file that may be processed to create thewear pattern onto a target garment corresponding to the base garmentimage. The user may also modify the position, the sizing, or acombination, of the wear pattern. For example, as the base garment imageis shown, the user may modify the position, the sizing, or thecombination, of the wear pattern. In response to, or in near real-time,the system may show to the user the modifications, without needing tofirst manufacture the target garment.

In a step 2505, the system includes receiving a request to populate avirtual storefront with one or more garments. For example, the garmentsare created using the digital brief tool. The request may come from thesame user that created the garments using the digital brief tool. Thevirtual storefront may be a virtual storefront template, which includesone or more virtual surfaces where garments may be populated. Thevirtual storefront may also include details that are not virtualsurfaces. For example, the virtual storefront may include windows,signage, doorways, or other structures. These structures approve theimmersion of the user, since it makes the virtual storefront morerealistic, even if they are not directly usable for populating garments.

In a step 2510, the system includes populating one or more garments ontoa virtual surface. The way in which the one or more garments may appeardepends on a virtual surface type. For example, if the virtual surfaceis a shelf, the garments may appear as if folded in a stack. If thevirtual surface is a rack, the garments may appear as if hanging on ahanger on the rack. If the virtual surface is a tabletop, the garmentsmay appear lying flat on the tabletop, with an edge of the garmentshanging over the tabletop. Additionally, one or more garments may appearon a single virtual surface. For example, the tabletop virtual surfacemay include two different garments populated on the virtual tabletop.Additionally, when garments are populated, one garment may obscureanother garment. For example, if the garments are hung, the firstgarment in the rack may partially obscure other garments on the samerack.

In a step 2515, the system includes allowing a user to navigate thepopulated virtual storefront. For example, the populated virtualstorefront may be adapted to use different technologies, such as virtualreality or augmented related, to allow the user to immerse themselves inthe populated virtual storefront. The user may navigate the populatedvirtual storefront in different ways. For example, the user may move inreal-life and a corresponding action may appear to be taken in thepopulated virtual storefront. For example, the user may walk forward orbackward, look up or down, or perform other actions. In response to theuser's action, the system may update what is displayed to the user.

In a step 2520, the system includes providing a target garment andcreating a wear pattern on the target garment. The target garmentincludes a real-world version of the base garment selected by the user.For example, the target garment is a pair of jeans, adapted for laserfinishing. From the input with modified sizing or positioning from theuser, the target garment is finished with the wear pattern.

FIG. 26 shows an image texture and color swap approach. An image 2601 ona left-hand side is a store template, with regions or locationsidentifying where digital assets may be populated, such as a virtualsurface for a tabletop and a virtual surface for a shelf. An image 2605on a right-hand side is a virtual storefront image generated from thestore template. The store template has boundary lines or outlinesidentifying locations where products (e.g., jeans, accessories, orshorts) can be placed. The virtual storefront image can include textureor color populated images, or both. The virtual storefront image showsthe products as they might appear in a physical store, in the propermanner according to a type of virtual surface. For example, the tabletopvirtual surface may include garments that are flat, with the bottoms ofthe garments hanging over the side of the virtual tabletop. As anotherexample, for the shelving virtual surface, garments may appear to befolded, so that not the entire garment is visible. Garments may alsopartially obscure other garments on the same virtual surface, such asfor the shelving virtual surface, five garments may be shown, but only afolded edge of garments in the middle of the stack of the clothing inthe shelving is shown.

FIG. 27 shows a flow of the image texture and color swap technique.Various data to create the virtual storefront are provided: (i) storeview sample images including store images, (ii) user placement inputsincluding inputs that specify where, for each piece of apparel, theapparel should be included in the virtual storefront, and (iii) apparelinformation including a collection of apparel items and their associatedapparel images. The product images are processed using texture and colorextraction to generate texture and color files. The store images areused to perform template extraction, which identifies one or morelocations in the store images where apparel may be placed, and stored asa template. The texture and color files, template, and inputs are usedto perform product placement and lighting within the template togenerate an image. The generated image is used to populate a storetemplate view and shown to a customer as a storefront populated with thecollection of apparel.

FIG. 28 shows an augmented reality approach. There are images ofgarments 2801 that are part of a collection. There is an emptyreal-world environment 2803, which for example, can include empty table,shelf, floor, or clothing rack, that serve as a framework on which theimages of the garments can be projected. With a viewer 2805 (e.g.,tablet device), using augmented reality, the user will be able to view acollection of garment in the empty real-world environment. With theviewer, the customer will also be able to walk around and move thecollection (e.g., move some garments from one shelf to a differentshelf) as desired.

FIG. 29 shows a flow for an augmented reality technique. Apparelinformation, such as a collection of one or more products, is provided.This includes associated apparel images and user-selected processparameters for items in the collection. Three-dimensional garment modelsare selected from a database depending on the apparel informationreceived. The three-dimensional models can be directly scanned orsynthetically created. For example, three-dimensional garment models canbe directly scanned for use in the store preview feature or anapproximation can be created on-the-fly when the model is required bythe virtual storefront feature. Texture and color information areextracted from the product imagery to generate texture and color files.The three-dimensional models and texture and color files undergoapplication of textures and colors to the three-dimensional models. Thiscreates augmented reality objects that are presented to the customer inan augmented reality virtual storefront view.

The viewer device has a screen and a camera on an opposite side to thescreen. The viewer's camera captures images of the empty real-worldenvironment. The captured real-world environment is displayed on thescreen along with the virtual garments to create an augmented realityview of a virtual storefront. When the user moves the viewer, such astilting, panning, or walking around, the virtual storefront withpopulated virtual apparel on the screen will update in near real-time.Alternatively, the user may indicate using button or other inputs toindicate which direction they are navigating in the virtual environment.

FIG. 30 shows a virtual reality approach. There are images of garments3001 that are part of a collection. This is a completely syntheticenvironment where the customer can experience through a virtual realityheadset 3003, a virtual storefront 3005 that is populated by garments ina collection. The environment can either be set by the garmentmanufacturer (e.g., LS&Co.) or the user.

For a pair of jeans, a three-dimensional model of the jeans isretrieved. Options for the jeans, such as color, finish, base, and otheroptions, are projected onto the three-dimensional model. A customerviews the virtual reality environment by wearing a virtual realityheadset. With the headset, the customer will see on a screen the virtualstorefront. When the customer moves, such as tilting their heads, movingforward or backward, the virtual storefront will update the populatedapparel and virtual environment in near real time. Alternatively, thecustomer may navigate the virtual environment using an input device,such as a joystick, controller, or keyboard.

A flow of a virtual reality technique may be similar to a flow for theaugmented reality approach discussed above and shown in FIG. 29. Insteadof augmented reality, the technique creates virtual reality models thatare presented to the customer in a virtual reality storefront view.

This description of the invention has been presented for the purposes ofillustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or tolimit the invention to the precise form described, and manymodifications and variations are possible in light of the teachingabove. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to bestexplain the principles of the invention and its practical applications.This description will enable others skilled in the art to best utilizeand practice the invention in various embodiments and with variousmodifications as are suited to a particular use. The scope of theinvention is defined by the following claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: providing a garmentpreviewing tool that allows previewing on a computer screen of aselected garment base customized by a user with a finishing pattern,wherein the garment previewing tool includes providing an option for theuser to select the garment base and upon the user's selection, showing afirst garment preview image on the computer screen comprising a jeansbase image for the selected garment base, providing an option for theuser to select a wear pattern from a menu of wear patterns, wherein eachwear pattern is associated with a laser input file to be used by a laserto produce that wear pattern onto a jeans garment, and after the wearpattern is selected, allowing the user to select the wear pattern andmodify a sizing or position of the wear pattern relative to the jeansbase image; for a plurality of garments created using the garmentpreviewing tool, receiving a first selected garment from the user;receiving from the user a request to populate a virtual storefronttemplate with the first selected garment, wherein the virtual storefrontincludes a first virtual surface; populating, based on a first virtualsurface type associated with the first virtual surface, the virtualstorefront template to include the first selected garment on the firstvirtual surface, wherein the first virtual surface comprises at leastone of a tabletop, shelving, or clothing rack, and the first virtualsurface type is associated a first scheme to present the first selectedgarment including whether the first selected garment should be hung,flat, on a mannequin, folded, or stacked; presenting the populatedvirtual storefront template to the user; allowing the user to navigatethe populated virtual storefront, wherein, in response to the user'snavigation input, updating the populated virtual storefront template;providing a target garment corresponding to the first selected garmentby the user; and based on a laser input file associated with a selectedwear pattern with modified sizing or modified positioning, or acombination, using a laser to create a finishing pattern on an outersurface of the target garment.
 2. The method of claim 1 comprising: forthe plurality of garments created using the garment previewing tool,receiving a second selected garment from the user, wherein the secondselected garment is included with the first virtual surface.
 3. Themethod of claim 1 comprising: for the plurality of garments createdusing the garment previewing tool, receiving a second selected garmentfrom the user, wherein the second selected garment is included with asecond virtual surface, different than the first virtual surface.
 4. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the virtual storefront includes signage. 5.The method of claim 1 wherein the virtual storefront includes a doorway.6. The method of claim 1 wherein presenting the populated virtualstorefront template to the user uses augmented reality.
 7. The method ofclaim 1 wherein presenting the populated virtual storefront template tothe user uses virtual reality.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein theuser's navigation input comprises walking in a first direction.
 9. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the user's navigation input comprises tiltingthe user's device.
 10. The method of claim 1 wherein a method ofmanufacturing the target garment comprises: assembling the targetgarment from fabric panels of a woven first material comprising a warpcomprising indigo ring-dyed cotton yarn, wherein the fabric panels aresewn together using thread.
 11. The method of claim 1 wherein based onthe laser input file, the laser removes selected amounts of materialfrom the surface of a material of the target garment at different pixellocations of the garment, and for lighter pixel locations of thefinishing pattern, a greater amount of the indigo ring-dyed cotton warpyarn is removed, while for darker pixel locations of the finishingpattern, a lesser amount of the indigo ring-dyed cotton warp yarn isremoved.
 12. The method of claim 1 wherein when using the laser tocreate a finishing pattern, different laser levels are obtained byvarying an output of the laser beam by altering a characteristic of thelaser comprising at least one of a frequency, period, pulse width,power, duty cycle, or burning speed.
 13. The method of claim 1 whereinthe target garment is made of at least one of a twill material or acotton twill material.
 14. The method of claim 1 wherein the garmentbase corresponds to a base fit fabric and the base fit fabric includesknown characteristics regarding the suitability of the base fit fabricfor finishing using the laser.